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Everything you need to create great videos with an iPhone

With the recent addition of Apple Log profile in the Apple iPhone 15/16 Pro/Pro Max models, you can record truly professional videos with the phone in your pocket. When shooting, we constantly use iPhone shots interwoven with large sensor mirrorless cameras PetaPixels's YouTube videos, and few viewers have commented on a difference. However, to truly compare iPhone videos to those from dedicated cameras requires a bit of technology and a few additional accessories.

Full disclosure: This story was sponsored by Lexar and the Go Portable SSD. This compact drive is the ultimate in ultraportable SSDs. It connects directly to your phone and allows you to seamlessly record video directly to the drive from your iPhone 15 Pro/Max or later.

The standard shooting modes are fine with bold colors and contrast, but the ability to rate Apple Log recording offers significantly more control and a nicer tonality overall.

iPhone Camera: The simple but limited default app

First, your creative options largely depend on the app you use. Starting with the Native Camera app, this offers a very simple interface, the best stabilization the phone is capable of (particularly with “Action Mode”, which crops and reduces the resolution but is shockingly stable), and spatial audio with clever mixing options .

A person blows seeds or small particles from their hands. You are outside, with a clear blue sky and trees in the background. The particles are distributed in the air and kept moving as they spread.
Video on the iPhone 15/16 is surprisingly good, with usable log footage and high-resolution, high frame rate modes.

You can shoot a punchy and I would say over-sharpened SDR or HDR file or use the new Apple Log profile to get much more control over the image. Unfortunately, the excellent Apple Log recording can currently only be captured in ProRes HQ format, creating absolutely huge files. Additionally, 4K/60P and now 4K/120P on the iPhone 16 Pro require a fast external drive to be connected when recording to Apple Log.

A person works on a laptop with video editing software. A small USB device is connected to the laptop, which stands on a wooden table. The person's hand is visible on the keyboard.
We like the new Lexar Go Portable SSD, which offers up to 2TB of storage and is fast enough to handle ProRes 4k 120P protocol recording.

Connecting an SSD or CFExpress card and reader is usually quite a hassle (and we advise against using SD cards and readers as they are almost too slow to keep up with ProRes HQ's data rate). However, Lexar has released a new Go Portable SSD and hub that is small, simple and stylish. This is now my preferred method for recording Apple Log.

Screenshot of a video editing interface showing two men standing on a sandy beach. One holds a microphone and conducts an interview. Palm trees and a promenade can be seen in the background. The interface displays audio mix options and video settings.
The default Camera app on the latest iPhones offers support for spatial audio, something you won't find in third-party apps yet.

The downside to using the default camera app is the extremely limited manual controls. You can move the exposure up and down and change your focus, but that's basically it. When I use my iPhone for quick snapshots, I generally open the basic Camera app, but avoid it for more serious work.

Final Cut Camera: Things keep going up…

When I want a little more control but still want to keep things simple, I use the new Final Cut camera app. This still uses Apple's excellent standard stabilization, but you can't access “Action Mode.” It also allows manual adjustment of white balance and focus and, most importantly, displays audio levels. This is the app I use for product shots where I need to lock white balance and focus, or for quick clips where I need to check that an external microphone is connected properly.

A man with gray hair and a beard stands on a path and points upwards. He is wearing a dark jacket. The background offers a scenic view of trees and open fields under clear skies. Elements of the camera interface are overlaid on the image.
Final Cut Camera has an easy-to-use interface with a few more bells and whistles than the standard app.

Speaking of external microphones, they make a world of difference when it comes to audio. The iPhone's built-in microphones are pretty good, but they still let in a lot of ambient noise. Up close, using even a wired external lavalier microphone can really isolate your voice. I like the Sennheiser XS Lavalier ($60), which plugs directly into the USB-C port. However, if you want to record audio with your entire body in frame or moving within the frame, it's worth investing in a wireless microphone setup like the Rode Wireless Pro kit ($375).

An open black case containing three compact wireless devices labeled
The Final Cut camera app at least lets you see audio levels, which is important when using microphones.

Unfortunately, Final Cut Camera doesn't allow you to set actual microphone recording levels, so you may notice that the audio levels get way too loud when you start and stop speaking. Also, this app can still only record Apple Log with ProRes HQ codec. This means that in-camera recording is limited to 4K/30P, and 4K/60P and 4K/120P require an external drive like the Lexar Go Portable SSD mentioned above.

A person holds an iPhone with a Lexar Professional card reader connected to it. The card reader is black with a visible label. The background is blurred and outdoors.
You'll need some kind of portable SSD because the iPhone camera apps only offer huge ProRes HQ files when recording logs.

Blackmagic Camera: Let's get professional

This brings us to my favorite option for more demanding work: the free BlackMagic Camera app. I also hear good things about Kino, but it's a paid app and I personally haven't used it for my work.

The Blackmagic app offers full control over all camera exposure settings and opens up a variety of compression options. Most valuable to me is the full manual exposure control as I can finally set a manual shutter speed or angle and control the look of movement in my video. By default, all apps use a very fast shutter speed, which can make movements appear jerky, whereas a slow shutter speed makes movements appear natural. The problem you'll encounter outdoors is that there's too much light and you can't stop down the iPhone camera's aperture, so slow shutter speeds will overexpose your shots. The solution here is an external ND filter. This allows me to achieve natural movements that fit my larger cameras perfectly. I'm currently using SmallRig's 52mm magnetic adapter and VND filter.

A digital interface for a camera app displays settings such as lens, FPS and ISO with a blurred landscape in the background. The screen shows a shutter speed of 172.8°, a white balance of 4420K and a shooting time of 1:32:56, with 20GB of storage remaining.
The interface can be a little intimidating, but the Blackmagic app offers by far the most manual control.

The other big advantage of using the BlackMagic Camera app is that you can use more efficient compression and still record Apple Log. I like to use Apple ProRes LT, which gives me less than half the file size compared to standard ProRes HQ, but still gives me plenty of room to correct the footage.

Screenshot of a settings menu with video recording codec options. The options listed are Apple ProRes 422 HQ, Apple ProRes 422, Apple ProRes 422 LT (selected), Apple ProRes 422 Proxy, HEVC (H.265), and H.264.
The Blackmagic Camera app gives you many more levels of compression that are far more efficient for storage.

However, stabilization when using the BlackMagic Camera app is significantly worse than the Native Camera app, even in the most advanced “Extreme” mode, and spatial audio is not currently recorded. Additionally, the interface can be daunting at first and I still find myself accidentally resetting my exposure, even after more than a year of use.

A person in a puffy jacket stands outside in a bright, overexposed environment. Camera interface details, including recording time and settings, are visible on the screen overlay.
You can set a fixed shutter speed in the Blackmagic app, but you'll usually need ND filters to reduce the extra light.

Great hardware is easy, but there is no single “best” app

Hopefully this shows that there are different apps and accessories that I can rely on for different types of shooting. The Native Camera app is great for quick shots, especially when you need the most advanced image stabilization. Sure, the standard image is over-processed, but that's often less important than speed and stability when something spontaneous happens.

The Final Cut Camera app is my preferred option when I'm shooting quickly but using additional accessories like microphones. When I have time to prepare my shot, and especially when I have ND filters on hand, the Blackmagic Camera app is the only one that gives me access to all the manual controls and compression options that I often need.

Hopefully this will help you figure out which tools and techniques make sense for the type of iPhone video you want to create.

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